The effect of rotation on the stability of multiple jets in planetary atmospheres is system- atically investigated. Typically in Jovian planetary atmospheres, multiple zonal jets have been observed and their morphology has been systematically studied. The formation of jets has always been viewed as a nonlinear problem where most work has followed from the ideas of potential vorticity (PV) homogenization or turbulent mixing on a β-plane. In our present work, we have aimed to look at the linear stability of multiple jets in a geophysical fluid, and hope to add further insight into the observed jet profiles in β-plane turbulence. In addition, we also study the evolution and life-cycle of these jets as they interact with each other in a non linear fashion. We begin with the linear stability of the \Bickley jet" using the linearized shallow water quasigeostrophic (QG) equations. We have included a finite deformation radius in our calculations to partially mimic the effects of compressibility. A family of synthetically generated velocity profiles with east-west jets are then studied. In particular, a variety of flow configurations with two jets have been considered with a parameter sweep across jet separation, relative jet strength and thickness. As a broad observation, it is noted that an asymmetric east-west jet profile with a stronger and sharper eastward jet is the most stable of all the profiles considered, and a finite deformation radius further stabilizes such profiles. More realistic jet profiles have also been considered and the role of a finite deformation radius in stabilizing such jets is elucidated. We also examined the nonlinear evolution of multiple jets in a periodic domain and in a channel geometry, as we undertake freely decaying long time simulations of the governing QG equation. As per the \Selective Decay" principle we observe that arbitrary initial conditions approach the flow configuration of the prescribed \suitable end states". In addition, we have shown how a finite deformation length scale modifies these \suitable end states". As a broad observation, we have noted that a linearly unstable jet flow configuration, in the presence of β, breaks down into turbulence and reforms into a more asymmetric jet profile with a stronger and sharper eastward jet. The inclusion of a finite deformation length scale in our calculations, is observed to suppress such jet formation. Similar numerical experiments have been performed in a channel and the results have been compared. Chiefly, for the end states, the nature of the observed jet asymmetry is reversed, i.e., the westward jets are observed to be stronger in a channel.

My thesis focuses on reproductive politics of (un)democratic Czechoslovakia, namely on the discursive construction of abortion as presented in the scientific and political discourses in the 20's and 50's. The aim is to compare the discourses and track the genealogy of control and regulation of women's bodies as biopolitical spaces within the Czechoslovakian nation. The text uses theories of G. Agamben, M. Foucault and R. Miller which deprive from the classical/juridical model of sovereignty and rights and offer a biopolitical one instead. Using this perspective the text tries to answer whether there is a difference between scientific and political discourses of so-called democracy and communism. That is, whether by putting the abortion into the center it is possible to speak about democracy and communism as if they were two different and mutually exclusive systems. Through the lenses of poststructuralist feminist analysis the thesis tries to doubt the binaries of "communism" - "democracy", "East" - "West", in which democracy always signals the good and communism evil. Analysing the discourses surrounding the enactment of 1957 law the text also ponders whether it is possible to read the law as a typical communist product, implanted by someone from the outside.

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Landtagswahlergebnisse in der BRD werden von empirischen Wahlforschern häufig als aktuelle Stimmungsbarometer für die Bundespolitik interpretiert. Bei dieser Interpretation von Landtagswahlen als \"Bundestestwahlen\" wird jedoch häufig vernachlässigt, dass Landtagswahlen überwiegend auch Regionalwahlen sind und landestypischen Dynamiken folgen. Empirische Untersuchungen zu Bestimmungsfaktoren von Landtagswahlverhalten wurden in Deutschland bis dato entweder in Form von qualitativen Einzelfallanalysen oder als Aggregatdatenanalysen der amtlichen Wahlstatistiken durchgeführt. Eine direkte und vergleichende Quantifizierung der Effektstärken mit Survey-Daten wurde allerdings bislang nicht vorgenommen. Die vorliegende Studie wertet deshalb im Rahmen eines replikativen Surveys 17 Landtagswahlstudien aus. So können die Effektstärken der individuellen Bewertung der Bundes- versus der Landesparteien auf die Landtagswahlentscheidungen direkt verglichen werden. Als Fazit zeigt sich, dass in Westdeutschland die Beurteilung der Landesparteien einen stärkeren Einfluss auf die individuelle Landtagswahlentscheidung ausübt als die Beurteilung der Bundesparteien. In Ostdeutschland prägt dagegen bei Landtagswahlen die bundespolitische Dimension das Abstimmungsverhalten der Wähler stärker. Die Parteipolitikverflechtung zwischen Landes- und Bundesebene ist somit bei Landtagswahlen in Ostdeutschland erheblich stärker ausgeprägt als in den alten Bundesländern.:Einleitung; Theoretische Grundlagen der bundespolitischen Parteipolitikverflechtung bei Landtagswahlen; Empirischer Test der Parteipolitikverflechtung bei Landtagswahlen; Diskussion und Ausblick / Electoral studies often interpret German regional election results ("Landtagswahlen") as barometers of public opinion on federal governmental parties'' performance. However, while interpreting German regional elections as "test-elections" for the national parliament, it is often underemphasised that subnational elections often follow a unique regional dynamics. So far, empirical investigations on the determinants of German regional elections consist either in qualitative case studies or aggregate analyses of official statistics. A quantitative study of individual-level survey data, comparing directly the explanatory power of the federal versus the subnational level, is still lacking. Conducting a repeated survey design, we analyse data from 17 German regional election surveys. Thus, the effects of individual assessments of federal parties versus their subnational counterparts on subnational voting preferences can be directly compared. The conclusion of our analyses can be summarized as follows: In Western Germany, the valuation of subnational parties has a stronger impact on individual voting preferences in subnational elections than the valuation of the federal parties has. However, in Eastern Germany, the federal dimension has a comparatively stronger effect. Hence, the federal – regional ("Länder") party system linkage is clearly stronger in Eastern than in Western Germany.:Einleitung; Theoretische Grundlagen der bundespolitischen Parteipolitikverflechtung bei Landtagswahlen; Empirischer Test der Parteipolitikverflechtung bei Landtagswahlen; Diskussion und Ausblick

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À travers une étude des œuvres de la littérature moderne dans le monde arabe et ses diasporas, ma thèse de doctorat porte sur l'autonomisation et l’agentivité des sujets masculins arabes queer alors qu'ils déstabilisent les binaires traditionnels et les constructions essentialistes des identités. En déconstruisant l'altérité mutuelle entre Orient et Occident et l'altérisation des homosexuels arabes tant par l'Orient que par l'Occident, je démontre la vulnérabilité de tels discours face à la fluidité, l'intersectionnalité et l'évolution constante des identités. Le premier chapitre étudie les implications des rencontres coloniales passées, des conflits et des relations de pouvoir sur les discours et les conceptions actuelles de la sexualité homosexuelle dans le monde arabe. Il examine également l'influence de l'altérité occidentale/orientale sur l'évolution de l'homoérotisme arabe et le déploiement de la “queerness” comme outil politique d'exclusion. Je considère à fond des concepts clés discutés par des auteurs comme Joseph Massad et Jaspir Puar, y compris “l'Internationale Gay”, l'universalisation de l'homosexualité, l'hégémonie occidentale, l'exception occidentale, “l'homonationalisme” et le “pinkwashing”. Tout en reconnaissant l'importance de tels concepts pour une compréhension nuancée du discours occidental sur les droits de la personne et des revendications libératrices, je maintiens qu'elles contribuent à l'altérisation des activistes arabes queer et des individus qui cherchent à être reconnus publiquement et nient leur pouvoir en les présentant comme manipulés par l'Occident. Le deuxième chapitre montre que les représentations des personnages homosexuels dans la fiction arabe moderne sont limitées et limitantes car elles restent confinées dans des dichotomies actif/passif, masculin/féminin, dominant/soumis, etc. Les représentations de l’homosexualité masculine dans ce chapitre l'associent à la déviance, à la perversion et au viol, et la situent dans des relations inégales et déséquilibrées motivées par l'exploitation matérielle ou le désir d'exercer un pouvoir. Le troisième chapitre explore les représentations de l'homosexualité dans les œuvres contemporaines d'écrivains arabes queer des diasporas. Ce chapitre suit les Arabes queer alors qu'ils se déplacent au-delà des frontières, habitent des lieux intersectionnels, intermédiaires et proposent de nouvelles possibilités d'existence au mépris des attentes et des identifications imposées. Ce faisant, ils résistent à leur altérité tant chez eux qu'en diaspora et témoignent de la complexité, de la mobilité et de la multiplicité des identités postcoloniales. Ma thèse souligne l'importance d'embrasser la diversité et de se réconcilier avec les différents aspects de l'identité afin de lutter contre toutes formes de discrimination, de racisme et de stéréotypes, et de favoriser l'acceptation et la tolérance. / Through a study of works of contemporary literature in the Arab world and its diasporas, my doctoral thesis addresses the empowerment and agency of queer Arab male subjects as they destabilize traditional binaries and essentialist constructions of identities. By deconstructing mutual Othering between East and West and the Othering of Arab homosexuals both by the East and the West, I demonstrate the vulnerability of such discourses in the face of the fluidity, intersectionality, and the constant evolving of identities. The first chapter studies the implications of past colonial encounters, conflicts, and relations of power on present discourses and conceptions of same-sex sexuality in the Arab world. It also examines the influence of Western/Eastern Othering on the evolution of Arab homoeroticism and the deployment of queerness as a political tool for exclusion. I delve into key concepts discussed by authors like Joseph Massad and Jaspir Puar, including the “Gay International”, the universalizing of gayness, Western hegemony, Western exceptionalism, “homonationalism” and “pinkwashing”. While recognizing the importance of such concepts to a nuanced understanding of Western human rights discourse and liberatory claims, I argue that they contribute to the Othering of queer Arab activists and individuals who seek public recognition and deny their agency by presenting them as manipulated by the West. The second chapter shows that representations of homosexual characters in modern Arabic fiction are limited and limiting as they remain confined to dichotomies of active/passive, masculine/feminine, dominant/submissive, etc. The depictions of male-male sexuality in this chapter associate it with deviance, perversion, and rape, and situate it within unequal, unbalanced relationships driven by material exploitation or a desire to exert power. The third chapter explores representations of homosexuality in contemporary works by queer Arab writers in diasporas. This chapter follows queer Arabs as they move beyond borders, inhabit intersectional, in-between locations, and propose new possibilities of existence, in defiance of expectations and imposed identifications. By doing so, they resist their Othering both at home and in diaspora and attest to the complexity, mobility, and multiplicity of postcolonial identities. My research highlights the importance of embracing diversity and reconciling with different aspects of identity in order to fight against all forms of discrimination, racism and stereotypes, and of fostering acceptance and tolerance.